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What the Hell is In Nomine ?''' This page is for people who are thinking that. It begins with a quick and dirty theme summary; look at this if you like, although you shouldn't worry about understanding it all. In my (Splinter's) opinion, the best approach is to dive right into chargen: pick a side (if not going mundane human or neutral Ethereal), pick a type of character, pick an Archangel or Demon Prince for them to serve (if applicable), and pick a variety of celestial (if applicable). Then, from that character's vantage point, start looking into the theme, beginning with their Superior and moving out to their Superior's friends and enemies. First, though, a little info. Quick and Dirty Theme Summary "Angels and demons" is the three-word summary. To go into a little more detail: ''In Nomine'' is a setting created by SJ Games, based on religious mythology. It's worth noting that it does not necessarily follow a traditional Christian worldview, though that's arguably the main influence; check out the page on religion for info on how religion plays into things in the ''In Nomine'' universe. Geography Existence, termed "the Symphony" (IN is full of musical metaphor), is divided up into three planes. The first is the corporeal (body/physical), the second is ethereal (mind/mental), and the third is the celestial (soul/spiritual). Angels and demons are native to the celestial plane, while the Earth exists on the corporeal plane. The ethereal plane is the realm of dreams, inhabited by various spirits created by human imagination. Celestials (angels and demons, as well as other minor spirits) who travel to Earth tend to adopt physical forms, called "vessels". These are often human forms, which are essentially indistinguishable from ordinary humans, although the celestial's supernatural powers grant them superhuman abilities. Celestials can switch from their vessels to their natural forms (although this generally creates a lot of supernatural "noise" that jangles up the Symphony), and return to their native plane when they want to, but most stay in human form for long periods of time. Superiors and Words Superiors consist of Archangels and Demon Princes, extremely powerful celestials who hold Words. A Word is a metaphysical concept like Judgment, Technology, Gluttony, or Stone, which gains power from its corporeal manifestations and the minds of humanity. Servitors (angels and demons) are usually assigned to strengthen their Superior's Word. Quick Start Guide A handy guide to get you a neat character concept and a perspective from which to start asking questions. * Heaven, Hell, or neither? ** If neither, go mundane human or Ethereal. Ta da. Else, continue on to the next bullet point. * Heaven: Angels, Relievers (minor Heavenly spirits), or Soldiers of God (empowered humans). * Hell: Demons, Gremlins/Imps/Familiars (minor Infernal spirits), or Soldiers of Hell. * Ethereal: Pagan gods, mythical creatures, and other beings born from human dreams. * Next, pick an Archangel or Demon Prince with an interesting Word (if Celestial or a Soldier). * Last, if you chose an angel or demon, check out the appropriate page and pick a Choir (angelic) or Band (demonic) -- the "species" of angel or demon. * Ta da. Character! They're a (whatever) serving (whatever). Choosing a Superior Any Superior can work here, but these are some that fit particularly well with the theme. (Just some ideas.) * The Horde ** Technology/Vapula: Naturally! ** the Media/Nybbas: Consumer electronics and other media-related technologies abound. ** the War/Baal: Weapons manufacture, and the role the Tether plays in the War make for a good fit. ** Dark Humor/Kobal: High-stakes business/scientific settings seem to work well for Kobal. ** Fate/Kronos: Lots of bright destinies to quash and dark fates to fulfill! ** Death/Saminga: Plenty of potential for death! ** Gluttony/Haagenti: Sensa Inc. would work well for this. * The Host ** Lightning/Jean: As Vapula's nemesis, and the angelic guardian of technology, Jean has a lot to do here. ** War/Michael: ADT and others could be great targets for War-related efforts. ** Creation/Eli: Plenty of artistic or otherwise creative stuff going on. ** Destiny/Yves: The opposite of Kronos. Done With That? Next, browse around the wiki a bit. You can also check out WW In Nomine, a site not affiliated with INRD that nonetheless has a bunch of random ''In Nomine''''' setting info. An excellent electronic edition of the corebook -- very easy to navigate and with some amazing color artwork -- is available here for about $17. Highly recommended!